INSTRUMENTS AND PROCEDURES USED IN DATA COLLECTION

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) granted ethics clearance for this study (Appendix A). All the participants signed an informed consent form and in the case of the minors consent was signed by their parents or guardians (Appendix B).

In this study data were collected from the questionnaires completed by the learners (Appendix E). Group interviews with learners and reports from facilitators were also completed. In addition, the participants were required to write a mathematics pre test (Appendix D) upon entry into the ISP and a mathematics post test (Appendix F) which was written at the end of the programme.

The highest performing learners were selected to participate in the 2009 ISP on the basis of their grade 11 mathematics results. These results as well as their final grade 12 mathematics marks were compared in order to determine the effectiveness of the blended learning approach. In addition a comparison of six schools was conducted where the grade 11 and grade 12 final mathematics marks of the ISP participants were compared with those of the non participants from the same school.

Blended learning charts were used to determine the extent of blending in this DVD approach.

99 The data collection methods employed in order to answer the research question are shown in Table 5.5.

Table 5.5 Data Collection Methods Used Research

The use of various methods of data collection and triangulation is vital in the determination of an in-depth understanding of the programme under investigation. In this research study, the researcher used the following types of triangulation:

 Data triangulation: Questionnaires (open ended and closed questions) and interviews.

 Methodological triangulation: Qualitative and quantitative methods

 Triangulation of time periods (Yin, 1994): Previous cycles and main study.

 Triangulation: Interviews with learners and the reports from the facilitators.

100 5.10.1. QUALITATIVE DATA

There are three main sources of data for a qualitative research study, interviews, observations and documents (Merriam, 2002). In this research study the qualitative data were forthcoming from the open ended questions in the questionnaire, group interviews with the learners and from the facilitators’ reports.

5.10.1.1. Questionnaires

The questionnaire (Appendix E) was completed by the participants of the 2009 ISP at the end of the programme. Questionnaires were administered to the 2007 and 2008 ISP cohorts. These questionnaires were used as a basis for the development of the 2009 questionnaire. Learners were asked to complete these questionnaires voluntarily and they were asked to be honest with their responses. Their confidentiality and anonymity were assured.

The questionnaire was designed to collect biographical information and to determine how learners experienced the Incubator School Project, what factors provided a supportive learning environment in this model and what impact on/improvement in learners’

mathematical ability the model had made. The questionnaire used included closed questions with a Likert 5 point scale since “Likert type scales provide great flexibility since the descriptors on the scale vary to fit the nature of the question or statement” (Schmacher, 1993, p262). Open ended questions were also included in order to tap into the learners’

personal experiences and to give learners the opportunity to give extended answers to issues concerning the approach of learning.

The use of questionnaires served to raise certain issues which could then be explored further in group interviews. One has to admit that although the questionnaires were easy to administer and manage, they could be of limited value only, for examining complex social settings. Therefore the information derived from the questionnaires was complemented by data obtained from other data collection methods.

The data from the questionnaires were then recorded onto an excel spreadsheet and thereafter analysed using statistical methods for closed questions and coding for open ended questions.

101 5.10.1.2. Group Interviews

The primary method of data collection was the questionnaire and this was supported by data from the group interviews with learners. The researcher felt that it was appropriate to use interviews in this research project since as Seidman (1991, p11) put it : “If the researcher’s goal is to understand the meaning people involved in education make of their experience then interviewing provides a necessary, if not completely sufficient avenue of inquiry”. Kvale (1996, p1) describes the qualitative research interview as an “attempt to understand the world from the subject’s point of view, to unfold the meaning of people’s experiences”. The purpose of the group interviews was to augment the information obtained from the questionnaires and to provide additional data to ensure credibility, to determine the breadth of the ideas and then correlate these ideas with those that have emerged from other data sources and so to explore these ideas in depth.

A predetermined set of interview questions formed the interview guide. These questions were informed by the research question and the sub questions, and were forthcoming from issues that arose from the questionnaires. The interviews were recorded using a video camera and thereafter each interview was transcribed. No other person was present and learners were assured that whatever they said would be kept confidential and that they would remain anonymous in the reporting of this research.

Candidates for the interviews were selected from the 2009 ISP learners. Three groups were selected as follows. The participants of the 2009 ISP (all three groups) were arranged in a list according to the sum of their weekly tests. This list was divided into five categories- low (<40), medium low (40-80], medium (80-100], medium high (100-160] and high (160-200]

(Table 5.6). Three learners were chosen each from the top, middle and bottom of each category and they then comprised each group. In addition care was taken to canvass learners from a wide range of schools. The interviews were conducted in a lecture room at the university. The learners were familiar with this venue as it was used for the lessons of the ISP. The interviews lasted approximately forty minutes each and they were recorded using a video tape. The learners did not seem to be uncomfortable with the use of this technology and the decision to use video recording allowed the researcher to focus on facilitating the interviews whilst issues like body language were recorded for later viewing.

Although group interviews are valuable in eliciting a range of ideas and opinions in uncovering elements that provided a supportive learning environment there is a drawback of a “group think” as an outcome (Fontana and Frey, 2003).

102 5.10.1.3. Facilitators’ Reports

At the end of the programme, the facilitators were required to report on the various aspects of the programme. These data were collected and recorded in an excel spreadsheet. This method was used to gain another perspective, that from the point of view of the facilitators, with regard to the teaching and learning on the ISP 2009 and more especially with regard to the learning environment of the ISP. Once again facilitators were assured that their confidentiality and anonymity would be maintained. The questions revolved around similar issues, as those highlighted in the learners questionnaires; and all the questions were open ended.

5.10.2. QUANTITATIVE DATA

Quantitative data were collected via pre tests and post tests, grade 11 and grade 12 final mathematics marks of the participants, weekly tests results, attendance records and grade 11 and grade 12 final mathematics results of the participants and those of non participants were compared.

5.10.2.1. Pre Test and Post Test

The researcher developed a pre test based on the mathematics knowledge and skills that grade 12 learners are expected to have mastered upon their entrance into grade 12. All applicants to the project wrote this pre-test. The results of the pre-test were used to determine whether a need for such interventions had been highlighted. They were also used to determine learners’ mathematics needs. Those needs were then addressed by the facilitators in the delivery of the lessons in the blended learning programme.

A post test was written by the participants at the end of the programme. The questions were based on the mathematics content and skills covered during the 14 week programme.

The results of the post test were compared with the results of the pre test, to determine whether the learners had overcome their problem areas, and had mastered all the concepts taught. The data were recorded on an excel database.

5.10.2.2. Grade 11 and Grade 12 Final Mathematics Marks of Participants The end of year grade 11 mathematics marks of the participants were obtained from their respective schools and their final grade 12 mathematics marks were obtained from the Department of Education: Eastern Cape. The intention was to track the progress of the participants, and to ascertain any noteworthy improvements. The marks were only available to the researcher and hence confidentiality and the anonymity of the data were secured.

103 5.10.2.3. Grade 12 Final Mathematics Results of Participants and those of

Non-participants

The documents of the final matriculation results were accessed from the schools that the learners had attended. The rationale for this method of data collection was to compare the mathematics results of the participants who had received the blended learning treatment in the 2009 ISP, with those of their peers at their respective schools, who had not been part of the 2009 ISP. The confidentiality and anonymity of data were handled by the researcher and then preserved.